polaroid

The second generation super-miniature Polaroid Cube+ has been revealed, designed once again by the folks that made Beats By Dre so iconic. The first Polaroid Cube was the first Ammunition team-up with Polaroid. That design was so successful, they decided to come around again for a second edition. Ammunition Group is headed by designer Robert Brunner. Brunner was Apple's Director of Industrial Design back in 1989, succeeded only in 1997 by the man he hired to work on the same design team - Jonathan Ive. Now it's time for another camera.

The following review will give you a brief overview of what it'll mean to use the Polaroid Zip Instant Photoprinter. This little device can fit in your pocket (if you've got a wallet-sized pocket) and is able to print a collection of photos from your smartphone using NFC to connect and Bluetooth to send data. This device prints 2-inch x 3-inch prints with glossy fronts and instant-dry ink. This device takes the fun of the original Polaroid Instant Camera and jams it in to our modern age, with a sticky back to boot.

Polaroid launched a new tiny portable printer earlier this week without much fanfare, and it is targeted at the mobile photographers among us -- those who can't remember the last time they picked up a dedicated digital camera because they've been too busy cataloging their life with a series of stylish smartphone-snapped pics. It is called the Zip printer, and it is small enough to fit in your pocket, printing out physical photographs for those times you take a shot that is extra special.

Wait a second, those of you familiar with the Polaroid Cube might be saying, isn't that the miniature shooter we know so well? Not really, says GoPro, this is a new camera with new abilities - it just... maybe looks... similar. Not similar enough to warrant a mass breakdown, of course - and probably not similar enough to sue. But similar enough that we're going to give a long hard look and play with this device if and when it's released to the mass market.

Polaroid's CES 2015 offerings have been notable, and include the iZone camera companion for smartphones and tablets, as well as some other gadgets. Also counted among them are two new tablets, the Polaroid L Series Android slates. They're essentially the same device offered in 7-inch and 10-inch sizes, and they have decidedly mid-tier specs, including quad-core processors and WiFi. Both are targeting budget-conscious users, set to come with a price tag that undercuts many competing slates when they launch this spring.

Among Polaroid's CES 2015 wares is the iZone camera, a square-shaped compact point-and-shoot camera with optical zoom and the ability to work with your Android or iOS mobile device. The maker refers to iZone as a companion device for your smartphone or tablet, the latter of which works as a remote view finder and a storage base for taking/saving images with the Polaroid camera. The idea behind such a device is that the companion camera will (likely) be of a somewhat higher quality than your smartphone, but without the same sharing features and power as your handset.

This morning, Polaroid is rolling out a new line of dashcams, and announcing a new go-anywhere printer utilizing their ZINK technology for printing right from your Android or iOS device. Polaroid’s dashcams promise recording in full 1080p, with sensors that record automatically if a collision is detected. Polaroid President and CEO, Scott W. Hardy said “With the average American spending more than 30 hours a year in traffic and about 5.4 million vehicle accidents annually, we saw the need to provide consumers with a dashcam that is designed to ensure their safety while in their vehicles.”

Perhaps drawing inspiration from their Cube, Polaroid is again going small. This time, they’re teaming up with Blipfoto to bring you a photo sharing community. the joint venture is a sort of re-introduction of both companies as they attempt to make themselves relevant in our mobile world. The Blipfoto community, like Polaroid, is nothing new, but in need of a refreshed image. The share-once-a-day forum will bring a re-hashed look for mobile, where Blipfoto is available on both Android and iOS (and the web).

Consumers haven't entirely abandoned printed photographs, even if Instagram and similar services are now the preferred way to share and view images. Things like ZenCam have caught attention for offering physical prints of digital media, and so it isn't surprising that Polaroid has been looking at resurrecting its own instant film offerings. We've seen the Polaroid Socialmatic camera before, and now there is finally a launch date to which we can look forward: January.

Despite the growing number of smartphone photography enthusiasts, there is also a growing resurgence in interest with "instant film" printing started by Polaroid. There are many solutions out there, ranging from a dedicated camera, a bulky photo printer, or an insanely bulky smartphone case (we're looking at you Prynt). What if you could throw out all that bulk and still have printer that works with any smartphone of any size? Well, you could do that with this Kickstarter called Snapjet, that prints instant film photos without wires, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, or even apps.